


it's no complaint you hear tonight

by Serie11



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Introspection, M/M, POV Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Canon, Sleeping Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: It feels like falling.One second he’s on steady ground, and the next his footing has given way, sending him plunging down into the abyss. That’s how he comes out of all of his nightmares these days; there’s the terrible stillness of watching something horrific playing out in front of his eyes, and then the stomach swooping jolt of waking up.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	it's no complaint you hear tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [digitalAlchemist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalAlchemist/gifts).



It feels like falling. 

One second he’s on steady ground, and the next his footing has given way, sending him plunging down into the abyss. That’s how he comes out of all of his nightmares these days; there’s the terrible stillness of watching something horrific playing out in front of his eyes, and then the stomach swooping jolt of waking up. 

Riku blinks blearily at the ceiling, his heart thundering in his ears. His breath might be slightly faster than normal, but he’s trained enough to know that the adrenaline rush needs a steady supply of oxygen, not a rushed and unreliable one. Sora mumbles next to him, and Riku slants his gaze that way to see if he’s woken him up. Sora’s drooling a little, with his face mushed into the pillow, so Riku is fairly sure he hasn’t disturbed him. 

Sora still has an arm wrapped around him and he’s legendary for the sleepy octopus grip that he has. To Sora’s chagrin, Riku and Kairi have compared notes more than once on that exact issue. It takes Riku a long time to disengage himself, waiting patiently between breaths for that moment when Sora is amenable to moving. He’s learned patience the hard way, and it pays off in small times like this – he can escape the bed without waking Sora, moulding darkness to himself to silence his footsteps as he leaves the room. 

The rest of the house is empty, Kairi away on a weekend trip with Naminé and Roxas to another world, and no one visiting at the moment. He lets up on the darkness when he reaches the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of water more to have something to do than because he’s thirsty. He doesn’t have nightmares as easily as others, and he helps quiet Sora far more often than he has to sneak out. He wants to attribute it to his time as Sora’s Dreameater, even if that’s long behind him. Maybe it’s got something more to do with his attachments to the darkness, and the way it’s difficult for him to find easy sleep these days. A light nap is less likely to produce dreams than a deep slumber. 

He pages through his Gummiphone absently, reading a message that Aqua has sent him, and another one from Xion. The app that they all use to share photos with one another has updates from Kairi’s weekend trip, and he distracts himself with that for a while, looking at the new world that they’ve found. There’s some pictures of them fighting, one with Roxas wearing a flower crown, and one with Kairi grinning above a delicious looking plate of food. Most of the updates come from Naminé’s account, and they all look great, the lighting and filters used bringing out the best of the subject. Roxas’s shots are a little blurry around the edges, and Kairi only has two new posts – one of Naminé and Roxas teasing each other light heartedly, and a selfie against a colourful piece of street art. 

He’s in the middle of replying to Aqua when there’s a creak from the hallway. Riku turns his phone off and stands up, but it’s just Sora, poking his head into the kitchen and peering around. 

“Over here,” Riku says, because he knows that Sora can’t see as well as he can in the dark. 

“Riku,” Sora says, yawning. “It’s the middle of the night. Why are you awake?” 

“Bad dream,” Riku says simply. The details of it have faded, replaced with thoughts and images of his friends, but the sharp panic still lurks under his skin. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

Sora waves him off. “Do you want to stay out here? I can make a…” He looks at the time on the oven’s clock. “Four am breakfast.” 

“Nah,” Riku says. “Come on, let’s go back to sleep.” 

Sora nods agreeably, and Riku herds him back towards their room. His hair is messy and Riku can almost see the indent of a pillow in the shape of it, which makes his lips tilt up. Sora makes grabby hands at him and Riku lets himself be held, Sora sleep warm and soft. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Sora asks pulling Riku back down to bed. Riku nabs his pillow and pulls the covers up over them both. Sora snuggles into his chest, arm wrapping around him tightly. Riku rests his cheek on the top of his head, and something warm flickers in his chest. 

“No, I’m fine now,” he tells him. “Can’t even really remember what it was about.” 

“That just means you were looking at your phone for too long.” 

“Maybe.” 

There’s a span of silence that goes on for long enough that Riku almost thinks that Sora has fallen asleep again, but then Sora shifts against him and sighs quietly. 

“You don’t have to run away when you have a bad dream,” he mumbles. “I wake you up when I have one, so you know. Fair’s fair.” 

Sora shakes awake and only calms down after he’s been cuddled into believing that everyone is safe, but Riku wakes up with the sharpness that comes from a fall, quickly and quietly. He brings a hand up to thread through Sora’s hair, combing it out with his fingers. 

“It’s just memories,” Riku tells him. “Nothing about the future. Just having you here to remind me of that is enough.” 

Sora yawns again. “If you say so. But if you ever do want to talk about it, you have to tell me. Promise?” 

“Promise,” Riku agrees easily. He’s told Sora far worse things, and it’s been a long time since he bottled everything up inside his chest. He has a support system, and people who love him, and if they were to do anything of the sort he’d be the first to tell them they were being an idiot. He likes to think that he’s grown past his fourteen year old self, and this is easy enough to give. 

“Okay,” Sora replies, trusting that he means it. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight,” Riku says softly, tucking a strand of hair behind Sora’s ear. Sora’s soft breathing settles into the regularness of sleep soon enough, and Riku is almost there himself, watching as the moon comes through the slit in the blinds with half an eye open. Being here in the quiet and the dark and Sora’s head on his chest and only the bright future ahead feels good; it feels like home.


End file.
